Lewis Hamilton (4th): “The team made a phenomenal effort to get all the new parts to the track for this race, and everybody has done a fantastic job at the track all weekend.
“We were very quick in practice, so I don’t know where the Red Bulls found an extra half a second in Q3. Still, it’s important to remember that we’re still in the fight: we make good starts, and there are some long straights here, which should suit us.
“I feel that we’re competitive – the car is the best it’s ever been and our long runs are strong. We just need to do the best we can with what we have – we can’t ask any more of the guys back at the factory, or the guys here, and I don’t think I could have asked for any more from me.
“So, yes, we can still have a very good race tomorrow.”
Jenson Button (7th): “Yesterday and this morning I was very happy with the car; the balance was extremely good and we were looking strong.
“This afternoon I couldn’t get the tyres up to temperature and struggled a bit with locking fronts and rears. I didn’t have enough grip and couldn’t find enough pace.
“It’s going to be a bit tough tomorrow, whatever the weather does. But the good news is that I’ll be starting from the clean side of the grid, and there are a couple of long straights after the first corner, so it’ll be a fun first lap!”
Martin Whitmarsh – Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: “The conditions in qualifying today were pretty challenging – low-grip Tarmac combined with low-ish track temperatures – and as a result it was difficult to get the tyres up to optimal operating temperature fast enough.
“Both our drivers drove sensibly and well to get safely through to Q3 – and, once there, we elected to give them each two single-lap runs. They both drove very good laps – but as things turned out it wasn’t easy to nail a time on a single lap.
“However, we’re very positive about tomorrow’s race. We’ve got a very good race car, with strong straight-line speed, and as a result both Jenson and Lewis will be able to drive attacking races.”
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